. >> i was proud of paul ryan. i was proud of mitt romney last week. we will have another great debate next week. >> aides say mr. romney has already conducted practice town halls with swing state voters. >> our commitment 2012 coverage continues online. keep track of the candidates and who is leading the polls. you will find all of the details on the politics page. the longtime gop senator turned democrat died this weekend at his home in philadelphia from complications of non hodgkin's lymphoma. he was the chairman of the senate judiciary committee and played a key role in the confirmation hearings of bork and thomas. in april of 2009, he startled senators when he announced he was switching to the democratic party. the next year, he lost the democratic primary. ed rendell said he did more for the people of pennsylvania with a possible exception of ben franklin. he was 82 years old. the most recent study performed by the austrian daredevil known as fearless felix. >> he traveled at incredible speeds. our wind is picking up. 16 miles an hour around the